Marian High junior James McGarry can sum up an invitation to next month's Edinburgh Festival Fringe in a sentence.

"It's one of the best things that can happen to you if you're in theater and you're in high school," said the Natick resident, who has the lead role in the school's production of "Check Please" tonight.

McGarry and other members of the school's theater club, the Mainstagers, have had a lot of good things happen this year.

It started with their selection to the world's largest theater festival. Then they raised enough money to knock down the per-person cost of the trip from $5,900 to $1,000. They have even caught the attention of the California playwright who wrote the play that's sending the club to Scotland.

"I got a call from Jonathan Rand yesterday," said Steve Flynn, the Mainstagers' director. "He congratulated us and basically told me he'd like the opportunity to talk to us about it. That the playwright would take the time to contact the theater director at a small, private high school in Massachusetts - I was impressed by that."

The group's meeting with Rand will have to wait until after its journey to Scotland. The 16 students leave Aug. 13 with two chaperones, including Flynn.

The group is scheduled to perform "Check Please" at Edinburgh's Church Hill Studio Theater four days in a row.

Marian High's invite marks the second year in a row Framingham has been represented at the festival, after the Framingham High School Drama Company went last year.

"The opportunity these kids have, some of them don't realize at this point," Flynn said. "It's the trip of a lifetime."

"I'm so excited, I can't even describe it," said recent Marian High grad Ellen Boyle, the student director of the play. "I'm just focusing on the present - we need to get this show done first."

Tonight's performance, scheduled for 7 p.m. at Marian High, is a last brush-up for the Mainstagers before they set off. It's also a chance for residents to check out their award-winning production. Tickets are $5 and available at the door.

Marian's theater club has been expanding, Flynn said, and now has about 130 members, about half of the school's student body. Many of them, as is typical at small schools, have a range of other activities that eat into their time, which makes their recent accomplishment all the more impressive, he said.

"They'll come into a rehearsal tired, sweaty, they haven't eaten anything, and not complain about it," Flynn said. "I think I'm lucky to have that."

McGarry credits Flynn with creating an inclusive atmosphere at the program.

Page 2 of 2 - "He's done an excellent job getting everyone into drama," he said. "He'll find a role for you."

The Mainstagers' trip to Edinburgh is another step forward for the club, Flynn said.

"When you can come back and say 'the internationally award-winning,' that's a huge distinction," he said. "It brings major credibility to a program."

Having a playwright in their corner helps as well.

"(Rand) told the kids to break legs," Flynn said.

(Scott O'Connell can be reached at 508-626-4449 or soconnell@wickedlocal.com.)